Montana Has 721 New COVID-19 Cases Reported Saturday

There were 721 new positive tests for COVID-19 in Saturday's mid-morning report from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Of the active cases in the state, 280 people are hospitalized and 209 people have died so far in the pandemic.

By county, here is the Saturday list: Yellowstone - 159 cases, Flathead 92, Roosevelt 92, Gallatin 76, Missoula 64, Lewis and Clark 29, Cascade 28, Hill 20, Ravalli 18, Fergus 16, Glacier 14, Deer Lodge 13, Custer 10, Carbon 9, Dawson 8, Stillwater 8, Pondera 7, Park 6, Silver Bow 6, Powder River 5, Teton 5, Phillips 4, Lincoln 3, Valley County 3. There were 2 new cases in each - Big Horn County, Madison, McCone, Mineral, Powell, Sheridan, Sweet Grass and Toole County. There was 1 new case in each - Beaverhead, Broadwater, Chouteau, Jefferson, Lake, Petroleum, Prairie, Richland and Rosebud Counties.

Health officials recommend that people should assume they are COVID-19 positive if they develop new symptoms after an exposure to a known positive COVID-19 person. You should self-isolate and help stop the spread of the virus. Once in self-isolation, you are required to remain isolated for a full 10-day period. Do not leave isolation early due to reduction of symptoms and Do Not leave isolation because you feel better.

In Ravalli County, Public Health reported 11 new COVID-19 cases Friday, October 9, making a total of 65 active cases in the Bitterroot Valley, with 8 people hospitalized. The cases: Two teenage girls, one man in his twenties, two women and one man in their 30s, a man in his 40s, a man in his 50s, a man and a woman in their 60s, a man in his 70s. Ravalli County's official COVID-19 website has "close contact instructions" in a new information sheet now available.